Trump signs bill to repeal transparency rule for energy companies

Xinhua, February 15, 2017
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U.S. President Donald Trump on
Tuesday signed a bill to repeal a regulation requiring energy
companies to disclose payments to the U.S. or foreign governments
for commercial development.

"This is a big signing.Very
important signing," said Trump at the signing ceremony accompanied
by two leading Republican figures, House Speaker Paul Ryan and
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

The regulation was made by
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 2010 Dodd-Frank
financial reform law, mandating energy companies listed in the U.S.
stock market to report on royalties and other payments to
governments related to oil, natural gas, coal and other mineral
development.

Republicans and U.S. energy
companies have long argued that the rule put U.S. companies in a
disadvantage position compared with foreign competitors. Rex
Tillerson, current Secretary of States, was one of the leading
opponents when he was the CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp.

Some Democratic lawmakers
criticized that repealing the rule will make millions of dollars of
U.S. citizens and investors "vanished into the pockets of corrupt
foreign oligarchs." Endit